Shape memory tripping object

ABSTRACT

A tripping object including an object including a shape memory material and being stable in a second shape complementary to a landing feature and a first shape non-complementary to the seat, the object being transitioned from the second shape to the first shape upon being triggered. A method for operating a well including dropping a tripping object including a shape memory material on a landing feature in the well, and triggering the object to transition from a second shape to a first shape.

BACKGROUND

In the resource recovery and fluid sequestration industries it is common to use dropped objects that land on seats in a borehole to manipulate the ability to use hydraulic pressure on certain portions of the borehole while preventing that pressure from reaching other places in the borehole. This is useful with regard to such activities as fracturing a formation in which the borehole is disposed, actuating tools in the downhole environment, etc. Different types of fracture objects have ben used over many years but still a pernicious issue relates to the objects becoming stuck in their respective seats after a pressure event or over time as a result of, for example, galvanic corrosion. Stuck objects are problematic since remedial work is required which causes delays and incurs additional expense. The art will sell receive alternative technology that avoids excess time and expense.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of a tripping object including an object including a shape memory material and being stable in a second shape complementary to a landing feature and a first shape non-complementary to the seat, the object being transitioned from the second shape to the first shape upon being triggered.

A method for operating a well including dropping a tripping object including a shape memory material on a landing feature in the well, and triggering the object to transition from a second shape to a first shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-section view of a fracture assembly including a first tripping object as disclosed herein in a first condition;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-section view of the fracture assembly including a second tripping object as disclosed herein in a first condition;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-section view of the fracture assembly including the second tripping object as disclosed herein in a second condition;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-section view of a fracture assembly including the first tripping object as disclosed herein in a second condition; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a wellbore system including the tripping object as disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.

Referring to FIG. 1-4, a tripping object 10 is illustrated at various stages of use in an object on landing feature assembly 12. As used herein the term “landing feature” is meant to encompass a feature that can catch an object and provide a sealing function (i.e. sufficiently sealed that a pressure differential across that engaged object may be generated that has a desired effect). The object on landing feature assembly 12 illustrated in the Figures happens to be a fracturing assembly that is not new but the object 10 used with the illustrated or any other object on landing feature assembly 12 upon which a tripping object 10 may be landed (or engaged) and used. The object on landing feature assembly 12 being used herein to elucidate the tripping object 10 will be understood by those of skill in the art to be a fracture sleeve assembly having a housing 14, a first sleeve 16 with landing feature 18 and a second sleeve 20 and landing feature 22. Fracture ports 24 extend through the housing 14 and are blocked in the views employed here by second sleeve 20 because the fracture assembly is illustrated after the first sleeve 16 was opened, the fracture operation undertaken and the second sleeve 20 closed. As will also be appreciated, this type of fracture assembly employs two tripping objects 10 a and 10 b, one for moving the first sleeve 16 to open the ports 24 and one for moving the second sleeve 20 to close the ports 24. It will also be appreciated that if either of the tripping objects 10 a, 10 b become stuck in their respective landing features 18, 22, then the operation cannot be fully successful but some kind of remediatory action must occur. This is where the tripping objects disclosed herein become beneficial. It should be appreciated that the discussion of the tripping objects 10 with regard to the fracturing assembly are only for example and that the tripping objects 10 are usable in any object on landing feature operation.

Tripping object 10 comprises a polyurethane or a polyether material, or other material having shape memory properties. One material that may be used is the shape memory material employed by Baker Hughes in their conformable screen product commercially known under the name GeoFORM™. Due to the shape memory properties, the tripping object 10 may be originally formed in a shape that non-complementary to a seat 18, 22. A non-complementary shape as used herein should be understood to mean that the shape doesn't seal well on the landing feature and is not conducive to being stuck the landing feature 18 or 22. Such a shape may include rod shaped, elongated ovoid shaped, prolate spheroid shaped, square shaped, etc. so long as the shape is not complementary to the seat. That originally shaped object 10 is then compressed into a shape that is complementary to a landing feature and will readily land on and seal with the landing feature 18, 22. That shape may be a sphere or a dart shape (ogive, cone, profiled, etc.), for example. The object 10 will hold this second shape until a trigger causes the object 10 to return to its first non-complementary shape. While the object 10 holds the second shape, it behaves as would for example a traditional tripping ball in that pressure may be applied against the object on the landing feature to actuate tools or fracture the formation, etc. Once that operation is completed, and it is desirable to remove the object 10 from the landing feature, transfiguration of the object to its first shape is desirable. This transition will be triggered by whatever trigger is initially planned for the particular object 10. The trigger may be temperature, an activating solution, etc. Once the object 10 returns to its first shape, recirculating the object 10 out of the well will be relatively easy since the first shape will tend to pull away from the landing feature 18, 22 just due to shape, such that it is unlikely the object 10 would remain stuck in the landing feature 18, 22.

In FIG. 1, there are already two objects 10 a and 10 b engaged with their respective landing features 18, 22. The fracture operation is finished and it is at this point that it becomes desirable to flow the objects 10 a and 10 b back out of the well (to the left of the figure). FIG. 2 illustrates an activating fluid (such as such as brine, oil, water, glycol, or diesel fuel, for example) has been applied to the well and hence will encompass the uphole portion of the second object 10 b. Object 10 b is illustrated post transition in FIG. 3. Object 10 b has returned to its original ovoid shape and clearly this is not a shape that could likely stick in the landing feature 22. Further, if an activating fluid is being used to initiate transition, the transition of 10 b also results in the activating fluid being able to pass feature 22 and reach object 10 a. This is illustrated in FIG. 4. With both objects 10 in the first geometry, they are easily circulated back out of the well. It is to be understood that it is also contemplated that no activating fluid is introduced but rather that temperature of the well returning to normal after the pumping portion of the fracturing operation could be used to raise the temperature of the objects 10 a, 10 b to their transition temperature or that heated fluid might be circulated into the well for the same purpose. Once the ambient temperature reaches the objects' transition temperature, they will revert to their original geometries and may then be easily circulated out of the well.

Referring to FIG. 5, a wellbore system 30 is schematically illustrated. The system 30 includes a borehole 32 disposed in a subsurface formation 34. A string 36 is disposed in the borehole 32 and a tripping object 10 and or a landing feature assembly 12 may be disposed with the string.

Set forth below are some embodiments of the foregoing disclosure:

Embodiment 1: A tripping object including an object including a shape memory material and being stable in a second shape complementary to a landing feature and a first shape non-complementary to the seat, the object being transitioned from the second shape to the first shape upon being triggered.

Embodiment 2: The object as in any prior embodiment, wherein the object second shape is sealable to the landing feature.

Embodiment 3: The object as in any prior embodiment, wherein the object first shape allows flow through the landing feature.

Embodiment 4: The object as in any prior embodiment, comprising polyurethane.

Embodiment 5: The object as in any prior embodiment, comprising polyether.

Embodiment 6: A method for operating a well including dropping a tripping object including a shape memory material on a landing feature in the well, and triggering the object to transition from a second shape to a first shape.

Embodiment 7: The method as in any prior embodiment, further including retrieving the object from the well.

Embodiment 8: The method as in any prior embodiment, wherein the triggering is increasing a temperature of the object.

Embodiment 9: The method as in any prior embodiment, wherein the increasing is by allowing recovery of ambient well temperature.

Embodiment 10: The method as in any prior embodiment, wherein the triggering is pumping an activating solution.

Embodiment 11: The method as in any prior embodiment, wherein the solution is one or more of brine, oil, water, glycol, diesel fuel, or combinations including at least one of the foregoing.

Embodiment 12: The method as in any prior embodiment, wherein the second shape is complementary to the landing feature.

Embodiment 13: The method as in any prior embodiment, wherein the first shape allows flow through the landing feature.

Embodiment 14: The method as in any prior embodiment, wherein the landing feature is a seat.

Embodiment 15: The method as in any prior embodiment, wherein the retrieving is by circulating.

Embodiment 16: A wellbore system including a borehole in a subsurface formation, a string in the borehole, and the tripping object as in any prior embodiment, disposed with the string.

Embodiment 17: The wellbore system as in any prior embodiment, further comprising a landing feature assembly in the string.

Embodiment 18: The wellbore system as in any prior embodiment, wherein the landing feature assembly includes a seat.

Embodiment 19: The wellbore system as in any prior embodiment, wherein the landing feature assembly is a fracturing assembly.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. Further, it should be noted that the terms “first,” “second,” and the like herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another. The terms “about”, “substantially” and “generally” are intended to include the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity based upon the equipment available at the time of filing the application. For example, “about” and/or “substantially” and/or “generally” can include a range of ±8% or 5%, or 2% of a given value.

The teachings of the present disclosure may be used in a variety of well operations. These operations may involve using one or more treatment agents to treat a formation, the fluids resident in a formation, a wellbore, and/or equipment in the wellbore, such as production tubing. The treatment agents may be in the form of liquids, gases, solids, semi-solids, and mixtures thereof. Illustrative treatment agents include, but are not limited to, fracturing fluids, acids, steam, water, brine, anti-corrosion agents, cement, permeability modifiers, drilling muds, emulsifiers, demulsifiers, tracers, flow improvers etc. Illustrative well operations include, but are not limited to, hydraulic fracturing, stimulation, tracer injection, cleaning, acidizing, steam injection, water flooding, cementing, etc.

While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims. Also, in the drawings and the description, there have been disclosed exemplary embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms may have been employed, they are unless otherwise stated used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention therefore not being so limited. 

1. A tripping object comprising: an object including a shape memory material and being stable in a second shape complementary to a landing feature and a first shape non-complementary to the landing feature, the object being transitioned from the second shape to the first shape upon being triggered.
 2. The object as claimed in claim 1 wherein the object second shape is sealable to the landing feature.
 3. The object as claimed in claim 1 wherein the object first shape allows flow through the landing feature.
 4. The object as claimed in claim 1 comprising polyurethane.
 5. The object as claimed in claim 1 comprising polyether.
 6. A method for operating a well comprising: dropping a tripping object comprising a shape memory material on a landing feature in the well; and triggering the object to transition from a second shape to a first shape.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 6, further including retrieving the object from the well.
 8. The method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the triggering is increasing a temperature of the object.
 9. The method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the increasing is by allowing recovery of ambient well temperature.
 10. The method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the triggering is pumping an activating solution.
 11. The method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the solution is one or more of brine, oil, water, glycol, diesel fuel, or combinations including at least one of the foregoing.
 12. The method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the second shape is complementary to the landing feature.
 13. The method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the first shape allows flow through the landing feature.
 14. The method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the landing feature is a seat.
 15. The method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the retrieving is by circulating.
 16. A wellbore system comprising: a borehole in a subsurface formation; a string in the borehole; and the tripping object as claimed in claim 1 disposed with the string.
 17. The wellbore system as claimed in claim 16 further comprising a landing feature assembly in the string.
 18. The wellbore system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the landing feature assembly includes a seat.
 19. The wellbore system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the landing feature assembly is a fracturing assembly. 